


The Grinning Man

by Stratelli



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Character Study, Other, i just have a lot of feelings about indrid?, kind of, mothman my main man??, this is an excuse, this is dumb and i wrote the first draft in like an hour
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-29
Updated: 2018-11-29
Packaged: 2019-09-02 04:30:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16779613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stratelli/pseuds/Stratelli
Summary: Indrid Cold is a man of many names. The Grinning Man is just part of that list.





	The Grinning Man

**Author's Note:**

> hey whats up?? griffin mcelroy has destroyed me with indrid cold and now im forced to post something for the first time in like six years so. enjoy
> 
> please, i need more friends talk to me on tumblr!! its elliestatix!!

The date was November 2nd, 1966.

Woodrow Derenberger, or Woody, as he preferred, had spent a long night at work. It was late; hardly another living soul on the Interstate. Silently, Woody was thankful for the bright light of the moon this evening. It illuminated the path home well.

The evening felt quieter than usual. Truth be told, it was pretty rare he was still driving at this hour. The witching hour, he thought to himself bemusedly. 

Suddenly, something in the distance caught his eye, and derails his thoughts - a flickering light among the trees, which struck him as odd - until he found the source. The blazing, flaming source.

With a horrible squealing of tires, he slammed on his brakes and stumbled out of his car. The cold air of autumn barely touched him as he tore down the street, panting the whole way- with the light provided by the full moon and the fire itself, he could spot the twisted, mangled corpse of what once was a car.

And beside it, a person.

As he approached the horrifying accident, he slows to a jog when he realizes this figure doesn’t seem very… troubled. In fact, he’s awfully still. Woody would’ve said paralyzed, if he had to take a guess. But before he can get a single word out of his mouth, the figure turns.

The very first thing Woody noticed was the glasses he’s wearing. Tinted red, perfectly round, like nothing he’s ever seen before. The man was tall, taller than he, even, and Woody wasn’t exactly a small man. His silver hair was unfit for a man of his age, yet he looked so…old, for lack of a better word. Beyond his years. He seemed so frail, but he carried himself with such strength. Everything about this man was contradictory, and for Woody, it was fascinating to look at. 

The lack of visible injuries never crossed his mind.

“ _Are you alright?_ ” They said at the same time, the man in front of him echoing Woody with terrifying accuracy. 

“Why yes, I’m fine, thank you for asking. _What happened?_ Well, as you can see, it appears I haven’t gotten the hang of driving quite yet.” He grinned, as if that was the funniest joke he’s ever told.

Woody doesn’t know what to make of this strange man. He’s stunned into silence. Sure, what he’d said were pretty common questions in a situation like this. He can’t help but find his sense of humor odd in this situation.

“ _Can I call someone for help?_ No, no need. This fire will go out on it’s own.” The… grinning man spares a glance back, almost bored. “I was waiting for you, actually, Woodrow. _It’s Woody._ Right, I apologize.”

He’d be frustrated at not being able to get a word in edgewise, if he weren’t so terrified.

The grinning man raised an eyebrow at the lack of response, but proceeded as if nothing was wrong. “My name is Indrid Cold. I’m not of this world, and I’d like to learn more about the human race. You’re the first human I’ve spoken to, Mr. Derenberger! May I say, it is an honor.”

There’s a beat of silence between the two, nothing but the crackling of the fire illuminating the strange man’s silhouette. The sound pounded like thunder in his ears as he struggled to find his words. 

“You’re pulling my leg,” Woody finally rasped, and let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding when he goes unaccompanied. “How do you know my name?”

At this, Indrid blinks, and his smile falters slightly. “Ah. Well.” The disappointment is evident in his voice, yet he managed to maintain an oddly professional tone. “You’d be surprised to know, Woodrow, that your response has told me all I need to know for now.”

“It’s… Woody,” He can’t help but reply cautiously.

“Well, Woody. Lovely meeting you. It seems there are many timelines where we will meet again, Mr. Derenberger.” 

When Indrid is met with silence, he sighs, and starts walking down the road, brushing past Woody as he does so. 

Woody, himself, can’t quite believe the encounter he just had. What did he say his name was? Indrid… Something? As the man disappears down the road - in a direction, Woody can’t help but note, away from the nearest town - the name rings in his head, distorting every time he tried to focus on it.

In years to come, when he passed this story down to his own children, then his grandchildren, bouncing the youngest on his knee, the name would slip his mind entirely.

To Woodrow Derenberger, this strange, alien creature was The Grinning Man.

\------------------

This would not be the last time Indrid Cold made an appearance. 

He was rather reckless, but he wasn’t a fool. Everything he did from then on remained cryptic in nature.

Just ten days later, five men digging a grave would claim to have seen a ‘man-like figure’ fly above them.

Three days following, two couples would report a ‘grey creature with glowing, red eyes’, with wings ten feet long, following their car. They wouldn’t say anything about the warnings the strange creature tried to convey.

A little girl by the name of Linda Lilly would see a tall, broad man, grinning down at her as she lay sleeping in bed. She screamed at the sight, and then he was gone, without so much as a breath.

On December 15, 1967, the Silver Bridge collapsed.

46 people died.

And one strange creature was blamed. A creature everyone knew as Mothman. A crude name, by many standards. But it didn’t matter. He wouldn’t be making another appearance.

Indrid Cold, instead, swore off interference with the humans. 

Until today, that is.

Aubrey Little, the Lady Flame, so… emotional. She was predictable in her unpredictability. Many futures laid before her, constantly shifting and changing, reorganizing. But they never deviated very far from each other. Her attention shifted so often, but she had a good head on her shoulders. Dangerous in her own right. 

Ned Chicane. A con man by trade. Owner of the Cryptonomica, and a strange character in and of itself. Reckless. Indrid was fairly certain he would get himself into some serious trouble the way he drives, one of these days.

And then there was Duck Newton. Probably the most interesting, in Indrid’s humble opinion. No, he didn’t have a life of running from crime, or hidden magic abilities - that he could tell. No, nothing like that. He was so cautious. There were many timelines where he never joined the Pine Guard, continued about his days living on his own, never retiring from the Park Service. When all these futures dimmed, Indrid was truly surprised. And as more paths unraveled from this turn of events, he knew that wouldn’t be the last time Duck Newton turned the tides of fate.

And now, the unlikely heroes stood outside of his humble Winnebago, unwittingly giving Indrid something he hadn’t had in decades. Something he... kind of missed. These three would act as the sword, Indrid the compass. As he swings the door open, he feels that something fill his chest, an almost giddy feeling. 

Hope.

“Okay. Go ahead.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is based off some of the real Mothman / Indrid Cold encounters, I've taken some creative liberties bc i just. have Given Up
> 
> Just a note, I'm aware Indrid said he'd been around for like a century?? I wrote this before I went back and relistened ha. But maybe he didn't actually communicate with humans for the first 30 some years?? Maybe Silver Bridge was the first time he so directly interfered, and he just bit off more than he could chew?? Anyway, this will probably not be the last time u see me. thank u. have a nice night


End file.
